Fu Yanli's place was not far from A University, less than a ten-minute drive away.
It was a sprawling single-floor apartment of several hundred square meters in an upscale residential complex where every inch of land cost a fortune.
That evening, Jiang Xun wheeled his suitcase to the door. Fu Yanli had left on another business trip and was not home, but Jiang Xun had been given the passcode in advance.
The moment he opened the door, he heard off-key singing. Chu Xingye was shuffling out of one of the rooms in slippers, looking relaxed and carefree.
At the sight of Jiang Xun, his expression froze and his pupils trembled. He backed away in terror as though he had seen an evil spirit.
"Y-you... what the fuck are you doing here?!"
Jiang Xun smiled shyly. "Did you forget, Brother Xingye? We agreed to move into Uncle's place together."
Chu Xingye said, "I never agreed to that. Get your stuff and get the hell out. This is my uncle's place!"
Jiang Xun blinked innocently. "But Uncle said yes."
He wheeled his suitcase inside while surveying his surroundings. The living room was spacious, with a large terrace outside.
Unlike a detached villa, this place was dozens of floors above the ground. Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could look down over the most bustling part of City A.
The apartment had a minimalist design in modern shades of black, white, and gray. There were few signs of anyone living there, and it did not look like the home of a young married couple.
It did fit Fu Yanli's image rather well, though.
"Which room am I staying in?"
Chu Xingye folded his arms and leaned sideways against the wall. "There's no room for you here."
Before leaving on his business trip, Fu Yanli had instructed the housekeeper to prepare two guest rooms. But Chu Xingye had happened to arrive at the time, so he had secretly told her to prepare only one, then locked the other guest room.
Jiang Xun looked even more bashful, his expression coy. "So you want to share a room with me, Brother Xingye."
With a bang, Chu Xingye went back to his room and slammed the door.
Fucking country bumpkin. Absolutely shameless.
Jiang Xun wandered around the apartment, his attention caught by the assortment of expensive wines in the wine cabinet.
But his current body could not handle even a single drink. Remembering what had happened with Fu Yanli's watch, Jiang Xun cringed so hard his toes could have carved out a three-bedroom apartment.
A black Steinway grand piano also stood beside the living room, largely for decoration. He casually tapped a few keys with his fingertips.
The sound quality was good.
It had been a while since he last played, and Jiang Xun's fingers itched. He sat on the piano bench, his long, slender yet rough hands hovering above the black and white keys. His fingers moved nimbly, miming the keystrokes in midair as a familiar melody played in his head.
I can't actually play. Someone might hear.
How could a country bumpkin raised in a rural village possibly play the piano, a refined art that required money piled upon money?
In his previous life, Jiang Xun had not been much of a student, but he had been exceptionally gifted in music. Piano and violin were his specialties, and he had won countless awards.
He had already held his own solo piano recital at the age of nine.
Of course, it was not as though he loved music all that much. His parents had simply forced him to compete.
If he was no good at studying or doing business, he had to excel at something.
But all Jiang Xun wanted was to coast through life doing absolutely nothing.
The other guest room was locked, so Jiang Xun could not get in. He did not go into any of the other rooms without permission either, leaving him with nowhere to stay but the living room.
Fortunately, the living room sofa was spacious enough. Jiang Xun lay down peacefully and closed his eyes.
Two seconds later, he opened them again, pulled out a tissue, and laid it over his belly button. Now he could sleep in peace.
"Good night, Bakamaka."
Jiang Xun crossed his hands over his stomach and peacefully closed his eyes again.
In the dead of night, Jiang Xun seemed to sense something in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes.
Through his bleary vision, an unidentified dark figure stood beside the sofa, staring at him with a sinister gaze.
Jiang Xun's face twisted for a moment. Then inspiration struck, and he forced out a smile.
"Brother Xingye, why are you secretly watching me sleep?"
With a click, the floor lamp beside him switched on. Sporting a head of unruly, tousled short hair, Chu Xingye stared expressionlessly at Jiang Xun. Then he slowly lifted the hem of his pajamas, revealing the defined abdominal muscles he had deliberately flexed.
"See that? A six-pack."
Jiang Xun said, "Oh... and?"
Chu Xingye said nothing. Those six abdominal muscles might as well have had a message written across them: I'm no scrawny weakling.
He turned and strode back to his room, slamming the door again.
Jiang Xun was speechless.
Ha. Fucking hell. Sleeping in the living room without a blanket was annoying enough already.
Early the next morning.
A Maybach pulled into the parking garage on the first basement level.
"Mr. Fu, we're here."
In the back seat, Fu Yanli slowly opened his eyes after resting with them closed. A trace of weariness lingered between his handsome brows.
The driver got out first, opened the trunk, and took out the luggage to hand to his boss.
Fu Yanli bent down and stepped out, taking the suitcase. "Thank you."
Each sprawling apartment occupied its own floor with private elevator access. He wheeled his suitcase into the elevator and slowly ascended.
After successfully unlocking the door with his fingerprint, Fu Yanli left his luggage beside the entryway and prepared to change his shoes. Only when he looked down did he notice an extra pair of casual sneakers on the shoe cabinet, several sizes smaller than his own.
They belonged neither to him nor to his nephew.
He already had a guess, and the scene that greeted him in the living room confirmed it.
It was seven in the morning, and Jiang Xun was still asleep on the sofa.
His sleeping position was utterly careless, one leg bent and one arm dangling over the edge of the sofa. The tissue covering his belly button had long since fallen off.
At some point, his shirt had ridden up, exposing a flat stomach that rose and fell gently with his breathing.
He had only applied the whitening body lotion a few times, so his skin was still a dark wheat shade. Yet the exposed stretch of his waist was supple and slender, its contours pleasing to the eye.
Fu Yanli softened his footsteps and stopped a few meters from the sofa. His gaze rested on the sleeping boy, his calm eyes passing briefly over his waist and stomach.
Before long, Jiang Xun's left leg suddenly jerked, and he startled awake.
Without even opening his eyes, he blearily reached for his chilly stomach, murmuring as though talking in his sleep, "...Where's my blanket?"
"Who stole my blanket? Where's my blanket... my blanket..."
His voice grew softer with each word until he drifted back to sleep.
Fu Yanli found a thin blanket, shook it out, and bent down to drape it over Jiang Xun.
Jiang Xun rolled over and wrapped the blanket tightly around himself.
Fu Yanli did not linger in the living room. He picked up his luggage and headed to his room.
The sun was already high before Jiang Xun fully woke up. With his short hair sticking out in a tousled mess, he stared at the thin blanket covering him in confusion.
Who put this over me?
Chu Xingye?
Impossible. That big idiot would love to see me freeze to death.
Just as Jiang Xun was looking around in bewilderment, the master bedroom door opened from inside, and a tall man in dark, casual loungewear emerged holding a cup.